Thomas Card’s ‘Tokyo Adorned’

“There’s this aspiration to be cute, and they find that to be incredibly empowering and strong," Thomas Card says of the women he photographed for his latest book, Tokyo Adorned, which highlights the kawaii (or "cute") style on the streets of Japan's capital. Dressing to express their individuality, the girls associate themselves with certain thematic fashion categories, ranging from “Fancy Conductor” and "DASAKAWA 80s" (a made-up word that juxtaposes “lame” and “cute”) to Lolita, Decora ("decoration"), Gotchi ("gothic"), Hadeko ("gaudy"), and Harajuku. "For these girls, it’s this process of dressing that allows you to see them for who they are," Card says. "They’re constantly changing themselves...If you were to go tomorrow, they would be different again."